Stocking



Aug. 6, 1946. A. A. SANDERSON V STOCKING 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 8, 1945 v EC CDC CQ IIII:

Patented Aug. 6, 1946 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE STOCKING August A. Sanderson, Indianapolis, Ind., assignor to Real Silk Hosiery Mills, Inc., Indianapolis,

'Ind., a corporation of Illinois Application-January 8, 1945, Serial No. 571,755

Claims.

My invention relates to full-fashioned knit stockings and more particularly to a unitary stocking blank provided intermediately with a widened heel-forming portion. It is the object of my invention to produce a stocking blank which can be knit completely on a single fiat knitting machine and which when formed into astocking will have a well-fitting heel of attractive appearance.

That portion of a stocking blank with which my invention is primarily concerned lies between the leg-forming and foot-forming blank-portions and comprises three contiguous zones defined by the edges of the blank and by spaced courses of knit stitches. The first of these zones in the order of knitting is trapezoidal in shape and of gradually increasing width toward the second zone, the second zone is desirably of uniform width; and the third zone is trapezoidal and of gradually decreasing width toward the foot-forming portion of the blank. The first zone is characterized by the inclusion of longitudinally distributed transfer courses ineach of which a group of stitches, progressively increasing in number throughout the first zone, at each endof the course are transferred outwardly of the blank. The second zone may also include similar groups of outwardly transferred stitches; but, if so, the number of stitches desirably decreases progressively throughout the zone. The third zone is characterized by itsinclusion of transfer courses in each of which a group of stitches at each end of'the course are transferred inwardly. All the aforesaid transferred stitches at each side of the blank are located within the limits of a marginal blank-portion reinforced by splicing yarn. Such reinforced blank-portion begins in the leg-forming portion of the blank and its inner boundary extends obliquely inward of the blank throughout the first zone desirably in general parallelism with the line containing the innermost transferred stitches in that first zone.

The accompanying drawings illustrate my invention: Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic view illustrating a'portion of a stocking blank embodying my invention; Fig. 2 is a side elevation of a stocking formed from the blank of Fig. 1 in place on a foot; Figs. 3 and 4 are fragmental, idealized views on an enlarged scale illustrating marginal portions of the blank respectively adjacent the junction of the first and second zones and adjacent the junction of the second and third zones; and Fig. 5 is a view on a reduced scale illustrating the complete blank.

In knitting a, blank embodying my invention,

I gradual widening of the blank. As is well known,

the leg and ,ankle forming portion 9 of the blank is knit in any desired manner down to the course,

the widening of a hosiery blank by the outward transfer of stitches, even if each outward transfer is by nly one needle, leaves in the fabric a small opening l0 adjacent each innermost transferred stitch. The number f stitches transferred in each transfer course following course AA is gradually increased, desirably at a rate such that sired maximum width. Thereafter, although the outward transfer of stitches in marginal wales may be and preferably is continued, conveniently at the same rate as that obtaining between the courses AA and B-B, the travel of the thread carriers is not increased. As a result, beyond courseBB the width of the blank is maintained constant for the desired distance, or until course C-C is reached. Desirably, the number of marginal wales in which stitches are transferred outwardly between courses B-B- and C--C is gradually decreased so that the openings adjacent each innermost transferred stitch and designated by the reference. numeral I! will occupy a line extending obliquely outward of the blank.

Beyond course CC the blank is gradually narrowed by the inward transfer of stitches in marginal wales, accompanied by progressively reduced travel of the thread carriers, until the point, indicated as course DD, is reached where the blank has attained the width desired for th foot-forming portion l2.

The lines in Fig. 1 are intended toindicate merely the direction in which the wales of the blank run and are not to be taken as illustrating individual wales. The heavy lines indicate the spliced or reinforced marginal portion of the blank. Such spliced portion begins before course A-.A is reached and may have any.

desired pattern down to that course. The spliced portion at each side of the blank at course A-A extend inwardly beyond the innermost stitch of the first set of outwardly transferred stitches. Desirably, the number of spliced wales at course AA is only slightly greater than the number of wales in which stitches are to be transferred outwardly at course A-A, and the number of wales including the splicing yarn is increased at a rate such as will maintain the inner edge of the spliced portion generally parallel to and spaced inwardly from the line of openings I0. I prefer that the gradually widened spliced portion attain its closest approach to the center-line of the blank at or near the course BB at which widening of the blank terminates.

The conformation of the blank and hence the shape of the finished stocking can, without departing from my invention, be varied widely, as by varying the distance between the courses A-A, BB, C-C, and D-D, by varying the number of transferred stitches, and by varying the rate at which stitches are transferred. In one procedure which I have followed to produce a satisfactory stocking, 30 stitches are transferred outwardly for one needle at each end of course A-A. The transfer points which efiected the outward transfer are then moved inwardly for two needles in preparation for the next outward transfer, which occurs in the fourth course following course A--A This procedure is repeated at four-course intervals, accompanied by increases in thread-carrier travel at the same average rate, until twenty-eight outward transfers have been made. The last of such transfers is made at course BB, at. which point the width of the blank has been increased by twenty-eight needles on each side and the number of outwardly transferred stitches at each side of the blank has been increased from 30 to 58. After the knitting of course 3-3, the outward transfer of stitches at the sides of the blank is continued at the rate of one needle for every four courses, but the travel of the thread carriers is not increased and the transfer points are not moved inwardly of the blank between transfers. Course CC, marking the end of the second zone, is reached after fourteen transfers; and following the last such transfer, the transfer points are moved outwardly in preparation for the first of the inward transfers which characterize the knitting of the third zone. That third zone, lying between courses C-C and D-D, embodies 80 courses each fourth course f which is a transfer course in which 20 stitches at each end of the course are transferred inwardly by two needles to effect narrowing in known manner.

It is to be understood that the above specific example is illustrative only and that considerable variation therefrom may occur without departing from my invention. The outward transfer of stitches in the second zone can be eliminated, or the second zone can be reduced to only a few courses in longitudinal extent or eliminated altogether.

When a blank widened intermediate its length as above described is seamed, the resulting stocking has the characteristics illustrated in Fig. 2. The course B-B is located at or near the instep line. In the spliced portion of the stocking the generally vertical wales progressively increase in number from course AA to course BB, and the line of openings in curves downwardly and forwardly parallel to the adjacent edge of the spliced portion. The progressive increase in the number of generally vertical wales between courses A-A and 3-13 provides an increasing circumferential elasticity as the instep line is approached; and the relatively large number of generally vertical wales at and below the lower end of the line of openings ID add to the elasticity of the stocking longitudinally of the foot. These features all contribute to extending the range of foot-sizes and foot-shapes which a given stocking will fit.

I claim as my invention:

1. A fiat-knit hosiery blank the stitches of which are arranged in transverse courses and generally longitudinal wales, said blank having a leg-forming portion, a foot-forming portion. and an intermediate portion, said intermediate portion being divided by longitudinally spaced courses of stitches into a first zone joining said leg-forming portion, a second zone joining the first zone, and a third zone joining the second zone and said foot-forming portion, said first and second zones including a plurality of transfer courses in each of which a group of stitches at each end of the course are transferred outwardly to form obliquely extending wales, the number of outwardly transferred stitches in transfer courses of the first and second zones progressively increasing throughout the first zone and progressively decreasing throughout the second zone, said third zone including a plurality of transfer courses in each of which a group of stitches at each end of the course are transferred inwardly, the number of stitches in the courses of said intermediate blank-portion progressively increasing in the first zone, being constant in the second zone, and decreasing in the third zone, whereby the width of the blank will progressively increase throughout the first zone, remain constant throughout the second zone, and progressively decrease throughout the third zone.

2. A fiat-knit hosiery blank the stitches of which are arranged in transverse courses and generally longitudinal wales, said blank having a leg-forming portion, a foot-forming portion, and an intermediate portion, said intermediate portion being divided by longitudinally spaced courses of stitches into a first zone joining said leg-forming portion, a second zone joining the first zone, and a third zone joining the second zone and said foot-forming portion, said first and second zones including a plurality of transfer courses in each of which a group of stitches at each end of the course are transferred.

outwardly to form obliquely extending wales, the number of outwardly transferred stitches in transfer courses of the first and second zones progressively increasing throughout the first zone, said third zone including a plurality of transfer courses in each of which a group of stitches at each end of the course are transferred inwardly, the number of stitches in the courses of said intermediate blank-portion progressively increasing in the first zone, being constant in the second zone, and decreasing in the third zone,

whereby the width of the blank will progressivelyincrease throughout the first zone, remain constant throughout the second zone, and progressively decrease throughout the third zone.

3. The invention set forth in claim 2 withthe addition that the marginal portions of the blank are reinforced with splicing yarn, each reinforced marginal portion beginning in the leg-formingportion of the blank and continuing through said intermediate portion into the foot-forming porerally oblique line extending inwardly of the blank and toward the second zone.

5. The invention set forth in claim 2 with the addition that in the first zone the innermost outwardly transferred stitches in successive transfer courses at each side of the blank lie in a generally oblique line extending inwardly of the blank and toward the second zone.

AUGUST A. SANDERSON. 

